Chapter 31

He looked at me with a question on his face. “I said that I will love you and our child for eternity. You two mean more to me than life itself. I’m just afraid that you are angry with me for not thinking about this in St. Louis. I’m just afraid that you are angry that I got you pregnant.”

I was in shock, Zack knows. He knows about the baby. He knows and he is happy, he loves me and our child. He is afraid that I am angry with him. Oh God, my Mother must have called…

All of the doubts and tension just faded like the morning mist. I was happy, happier than I have ever been in my life.

I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. I kissed him all over his face, telling him over and over again, “I love you…I love you.”

I was crying, but now I was weeping tears of joy. Knowing that all my fears were for nothing. How could I have ever doubted. I knew in my heart that he would love me come whatever. How could I have ever doubted him?

At first Zack didn’t know exactly what was going on with me. Then he looked at me and said, “Carol, were you afraid that I wouldn’t want you because you were pregnant?”

I looked at the floor and nodded yes.

He laughed and said, “Well it did come as a bit of a shock, when Sr. Miriam told me yesterday…”

“Sr. Miriam? Miriam told you? Not my Mother?”

“Your Mother? No, I ran into the Fossil and another young nun at the mall yesterday. Wow, the Fossil was going on and on about you. I can’t really tell you what she said, at least after she said pregnant. In fact I can’t really tell you much about yesterday…well after she said pregnant.”

“The young nun…oh I can’t remember her name..”

“Rose.”

“Yea, that’s it, Sr. Rose…uh, Clinton or something like that.”

“Quinton.”

“Yea, she said that she was your friend. Well she was the one to tell me all about the Tribunal and what time it would take place and that you would be leaving…” He looked at me and gave a sad smile, “She is going to miss you, ya know.”

“Yea, and I will miss her, but I guarantee that she will visit and you will get to know her.”

Now I knew what Rose had meant when she said that everything was arranged and why she was so distracted as we walked out of the Mother House.

I looked up at Zack and he smiled at me. He leaned into me and kissed me. This time it was filled with all the love, passion and lust in the world. His tongue slipped into my mouth and wrestled with mine.

He scooped me up into his arms and picked me up. I closed my eyes and rested my head on his chest. I felt so comfortable and warm. He was going to carry me away to that wonderful place that I have missed so much. I just nuzzled into him.

He stopped and lowered me…onto a chair! I opened my eyes and… we were in the kitchen. I was sitting on a chair at the kitchen table. Zack looked at me and seeing my surprised look laughed, “Sorry about that. But you do have to eat. It’s almost ten o’clock and you haven’t eaten anything today.

I smiled and giggled, “Well it isn’t what I expected, but I guess that it’s a decent runner up.”

We had a wonderful breakfast of eggs, bacon and wheat toast, washed down by my tea (decaf) and coffee for Zack (I insisted). He always told me that he was a bear in the morning until he had his coffee.

After breakfast, I was feeling so much better and told Zack that I would like to go out for a walk. I have gotten into the habit of walking every day for about forty-fine minutes to an hour. Both Sister Alice and my doctor in Cincinnati had recommended that I walk.

We went out of the apartment building and walked to the nearby mall. We did some shopping and we talked. Zack was the one who brought up the subject that I wanted to talk about.

“So, when are we going to have the wedding? Sooner rather than later, don’t you think? There is sort of a time constraint,” he said with a smile.

I leaned into him and said, “So you still want to marry me? Even though I’m fat pregnant cow?”

“What gave you that idea? You are beautiful. You are not fat…you may be pregnant, but you are not a fat cow. Where did you get that from,” he said.

I put my arm around his waist and squeezed him, “Some nasty old man.”

“Well don’t let me hear him say that or I give him a piece of my mind and probably a fat lip.”

I giggled and hugged him. I took his arm and held onto him. I wanted to spend the rest of the day walking and talking. I said, “I know a priest that will marry us. He knows the situation and he had promised to make himself available for our wedding.”

“You may know him he was one of the chaplains at St. Steven’s…”

“You don’t mean Father Joe…uh…Moran? That guy is an animal when he plays basketball. He’ll run right over you. God, one time he knocked me over driving to the basket and I yelled, ‘Hey, Father we’re playing basketball not hockey.’ He just laughed and said, ‘What, can’t you take it.’ Oh yea, I know Father Joe.”

I was giggling and said, “He agreed to marry us. And he realizes that it will be soon. We are going to have to the pre-Canna conferences. Oh good Lord, Zack, we have so much to do and no time to do it in.”